Supporting devices



Oct. 9, 1956 T. A. BAKER SUPPORTING DEVICES Filed April 6, 1953 Y Ill INVENToR.

Ti Ilrnan A. Boker BY A fr0/Wvg y SUPPORTING DEVICES Tillman A. Baker, Colorado Springs, .(olo., assignor to John H. Vicary, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Application April 6, 1953, Serial No. 347,125

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-124) This invention relates to devices for supporting objects, and the supporting device f this invention is particularly useful for supporting baskets of owers and the like on display stands.

A conventional display stand comprises an upright post provided at the lower end with a laterally extended footing, and at the upper end with a horizontal, laterally extensible rack, on which a basket of flowers may be placed. While the height of the stand may be adjusted, within limits, the arranger of the ilower display often desires to place one or more baskets of flowers at dir erent elevations and radial positions. If the post is provided with a plurality of arms which are fixed in position, neither the angular position nor the height can be varied conveniently. For a desired arrangement of the display, the vertical and radial position of each basket mounted at a level below the upper end of the post, often is required to be varied, as in accordance with the height and number of the owers in the individual baskets, the amount of foliage which is to trail from the basket, and also the amount of space available for the display. Thus, if the vertical and angular position of the various baskets can be varied at will, the various baskets may be placed closer together or farther apart, or at different levels, as desired, to accommodate the space available and the contents of the baskets.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a novel object supporting device; to provide such a supporting device which is detachably connectable to an upright post; to provide such a device whose vertical position on the post may be readily changed; to provide such a device whose angular position on the post may also be readily changed; to provide such a device which will tend to remain in any set position; to provide such a device which will accommodate objects of different sizes; to provide such a device which may be collapsed so as to occupy a minimum of space, for storage or transportation; to provide such a device which may be adjusted in position with a minimum of effort and difculty; and to provide such a device which is sturdy in construction and may be manufactured with ease and facility.

Additional objects, and the novel features of this invention, will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a flower display stand or rack provided with two detachably connected, adjustable supporting devices, constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the devices of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the supporting device;

Fig. 4 is a partial top plan view of the supporting device with certain object supporting links in open position;

Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse vertical sections, taken along lines 5 5 and 6 6, respectively, of Fig. 3;

FiU. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 2;

2,765,999 Patented Oct. 9, 1956 Fig. 8 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along line 8 8 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical section taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 3, but illustrating an alternative detent construction; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side elevation of an arm of the supporting device in tipped position, illustrating the manner in which the arm may be connected to or detached from an upright post.

A display stand with which a supporting device of this invention may be utilized, as illustrated in Fig. l, may comprise an upright cylindrical post 11, provided at its lower end with an adjustable footing, such as including four legs 12, spaced apart and pivotally attached at their upper ends to a movable collar 13, slidable to different positions along post 11. A link 14 is pivotally attached at its outer end to each leg 12, such as substantially midway of the latter, and at its inner end to a fixed collar 15. As will be evident, legs 12 may be adjusted in position to provide a desired elevation for the top of the post, on which may be mounted a rack which includes a set of lower bars 16 and a set of upper bars 17, pivoted together so as to be perpendicular to each other when in the extended position shown or along side each other when folded together. The center bar of each set is attached to a head 18 pivotally mounted on a collar 19 and locked in position by a bolt and wing nut 20. As will be evident, bars 16 and 17 may be folded together and one end pivoted down against post 11, while collar 13 may be moved upwardly until legs 12 and links 14 lie against post 11 to provide an elongated but compact assembly for storage and for transportation purposes. The flower stand, as described so far, does not constitute part of the present invention, but is an excellent example of the equipment with which the supporting device may be used. Thus, as shown in Fig. l, the stand is provided with a pair of detachably connectable supporting devices constructed in accordance with this invention, it being understood that only one, or more than two devices, may be mounted on the post 11, and also that each of the devices may be adjusted to any desired vertical or radial position.

As illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, each supporting device may include an elongated arm A, formed in a suitable manner, as by casting, with an upper central rib 25 extending longitudinally to the outer end over a major portion thereof, and a pair of lateral ribs 26 extending laterally on each side and having an upper surface spaced below the upper surface of the central rib 25. For additional strength, a longitudinally extending lower rib 27 may also be provided, as shown also in Figs. 5 and 6. Each of the lateral ribs 26 is provided with a downwardly offset portion 23 adjacent the center thereof, and with longitudinal slot 29, shown in Fig. 4 and also in Fig. 2. At each side, the arm is provided with a pair of links, consisting of a front link 30 pivotally connected by a pin 31 to the lateral rib 26 adjacent the front end of each, and a rear link 32 provided at its rear end with a pin 33 extending through and slidable along slot 29. Each pair of links 3l) and 32 is also pivotally connected together, as by a pin 34, so that the links may be moved outwardly in a horizontal plane to the position of Fig. 4, the rear pins 33 moving along slots 29 during movement of the links from the straight position of Fig. 2 to the laterally extended position of Fig. 4. As will be evident from Fig. 3, the upper surface of each link 30 and 32 is substantially level with the upper surface of the center rib 25 of the arm so that an object, such as a basket of flowers, may be supported on the level upper Surfaces of the rib 25 and links 30 and 32 when the links are in the extended position of Fig. 4. To permit the surfaces of the links 30 and 32 thus to remain level with each other, the end of one ice link, such as the front end of each rear link 32, is provided with a downward offset 35 for attachment of pin 34 thereto. As will be evident from Figs. 2 and 6, each downward offset 28 of a lateral rib 26 accommodates the connecting pin 34 for the links and the downward offset 35 of the link 32, when the links are in straight position against the arm. In addition, the central rib may be provided with an indentation 36 adjacent its center, to permit the insertion of the linger of a user to push the links and 32 laterally more readily, as when the links are to be moved from the position of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 4.

At its inner end, the arm A is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly extending flange 40 which, as in Figs. 3 and 7, has a laterally at upper surface inclined at an angle, such as 30, to the remainder of the arm, the rib 27 on the underside extending beneath ange 40, if desired. At its inner end, the flange 49 is provided with a groove 41, as in Fig. 8, preferably arcuate to correspond to the shape of a portion of the cylindrical post 11. In addition, the inner end of the arm is provided with a vertical flange 42, disposed at one side and extending rearwardly, which merges along its lower edge with the inclined ilange 40. At the inner end of the arm, an end flange 43 extends laterally from side flange 42 and then forwardly, as an ear 44, to a point preferably beyond the inner end of the inclined ange 40 so that, as will be evident from Figs. 2 and 3, the front point of ear 44 slightly overlaps the rear end of inclined flange 40. The vertical inner surface 45 of end iiange 43 and ear 44 is preferably arcuate, to correspond to the shape of a portion of cylindrical post 11 so that end ilange 43 and ear 44 may be termed a wrap-around flange. The underside 46 of ear 44 is parallel or substantially parallel to the upper surface of inclined ilange 40, and is spaced from ange 40 a perpendicular distance substantially equal to the diameter of post 11, thereby forming an inclined slot. By the latter spacing arrangement, the arm may be tipped to the position of Fig. l0, and placed on or removed from the post 10 by movement toward or away from the latter, the po-st being slipped through the slot between the flange 40 and the underside 46 of ear 44. The underside 47 of end flange 43, as in Fig. 9, may also be curved to permit the arm to be slipped onto the post and then turned to a horizontal position, so that the post will lie in the socket formed at the inner end of the arm A.

Stated in another manner, the groove 41 forms an arcuate surface which engages the post 11 and the ange 40 forms an abutment, while the end flange 43 and ear 44 form a hook, the end of which vertically overlaps the end of the abutment. The post engaging surface 41 of the abutment and the post engaging surface 45 of the hook each preferably extend at least approximately onehalf of the circumference of the post, while the hook and abutment thus form an opening encircling the post. The end of the abutment or underside 46 of ear 44 slopes downwardly, while the confronting sides of the hook and abutment, i. e., underside 46 of the end of the hook and the upper surface of ange 40, form an inclined slot which permits removal of the arm from the post, as by tipping the arm upwardly to the position of Fig. 10. This slot preferably should be inclined at such an angle that the arm must be tipped upwardly to an angle of not more than approximately 45 to the longitudinal axis of the post, although a smaller included angle between the arm and the post axis when the arm is tipped upwardly for removal from or placement on the post, may be utilized, such as the angle of approximately 30 shown in Fig. l0.

When in the position of Fig. 3, the arm is held securely in vertical position by the weight thereof, and also by the weight of a basket or the like placed on the arm, through the force couple against the post at the groove 41 at the inner end of inclined flange 40 and the inside 45 of end flange 43, as will also be evident from Fig. '7. Due to the laterally overlapping relationship between the extending end of inclined flange 40 and the front end of ear 44, on one side of the post, and the engagement of the opposite side of the post by the vertical flange 42, any lateral twisting movement of the arm about its own longitudinal axis is prevented. As will be evident, upward tipping of the outer end of arm A will disengage either or both groove 41 of flange 40, or inside 45 of end ange 43, from post 11, so that the arm may be moved upwardly or downwardly along the post 11 to any desired vertical position. Also, the arm A may be pivoted around post l1 to any desired radial position. When arm A is at rest, and particularly when an object load, such as a basket of flowers, is resting thereon, the friction between the post and the surfaces engaging the same will tend to hold the post in any desired position. However, to further insure that the post will remain in any set position, and to prevent a slight pressure from accidentally shifting the post from a desired position, a detent catch may be utilized. Thus, as in Fig. 8, the vertical flange 42 may be provided with a threaded hole 50 having a lip 51 providing an opening of smaller diameter on the inside and in which a detent ball is disposed, the ball being urged toward the post by a compression spring 53. Spring 53 is pressed against the ball and the ball 52 held in position in any suitable manner, as by a cup 54 which threadedly engages the hole 50. Or, as in Fig. 9, a boss 55 may be formed integrally with the arm, as by casting, and a hole drilled from the inside of the arm in which a catch may be mounted in a suitable manner, as by a press fit. Such a catch may be similar to a conventional type of cabinet catch, such as comprising a housing 56 enclosing ball 52 and spring 53, and provided with a lip 51 at its open end, the lip and ball being on the inside of the arm when housing 56 is pressed into the hole which extends into boss 55. As will be evident, the position of ball 52 is preferably such that the ball engages the post at a point just forwardly of a transverse diameter thereof, i. e., opposite the forward end of ear 44, as will be evident from Fig. 3, so that as the arm is placed on the post and moved to the position of Fig. 3, the ball will snap past a portion of the post, and tend to hold the arm in any set position on the post, as when the user desires to arrange one or more arms in position before placing objects thereon.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the supporting device of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. As will be evident, a supporting arm constructed in accordance with this invention is readily attached to and detached from an upright post, and also tends to remain in any set position. The slot formed between the inclined flange and the underside of the wrap-aroun end flange permit the arm to be placed on the post and removed therefrom with ease, while the surfaces which conform to the shape of the post insure a maximum of frictional contact. Also, the engagement of the post by the inner end of the inclined flange, at a lower point than the point of engagement on the opposite side of the post by the wrap-around end flange, insures that the overhanging weight of the arm and also any object placed thereon, will hold the arm securely in vertical position. As will be evident, a force exerted downwardly on the arm will only tighten the post on the arm, and an upwardly directed force is necessary in order to change the vertical position of the arm. The detent ball further increases the resistance of the arm to accidental movement, and facilitates the positioning of several arms on a single post before objects, such as baskets of owers, are placed thereon.

The pivoted linkage arrangement, including the lateral flanges, the pivoting of the front links adjacent the front end of the lateral flanges and the sliding connection between the rear ends of the rear links and lateral flanges, permits the links to be moved outwardly to any desired position, and the central rib provides a surface which is level with the upper surfaces of the links. The downward odset of one end of one link, at the pivotal connection, simplifies the problem of maintaining the link surfaces level, while the downward offset of the lateral flanges accommodates the offset pivotal arrangement of the links, so that the links may, in straight position, lie within the confines of the arm, thus providing a compact assembly which may be handled and stored conveniently.

Although preferred details of construction have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that various changes may be made therein. For instance, while the post 11 is circular in cross section, the device of this invention may be utilized with posts having other cross sectional shapes, in which case the inner groove 41 of the inclined ange 40, as well as the inside 45 of the wrap-around end ange 43, may have other shapes corresponding to that of the post. The rib 27, on the underside of the arm, may be omitted if desired, although its presence is preferable, to add strength and rigidity to the structure. Also, the angle of the inclined flange 40 and the underside 46 of the ear 44 may be different from that shown, while the detent ball S2 may be omitted, or any other type of catch which will produce the desired action may be utilized. The body of the arm A may be made by machining, by welding various parts together, but preferably by casting as a single, integral part. A pivotal connection between the links, and also between the forward links and the arm, may be provided in any other suitable manner, while any other type of sliding connection between the rear end of the rear link and the lateral rib may be utilized. Also, the lateral ribs may be thickened, so that the cross section of the arm differs from that shown in Figs. 5 and 6, particularly when the under rib 27 is omitted. It will be understood, of course, that the supporting device of this invention may be mounted on any type of upright post, irrespective of whether it is connected to or part of a display stand, and the display stand of Fig. 1 may be utilized without the top rack.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, and variations in construction therein indicated, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist and variations made therein, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for supporting a basket and the like and detachably connectable to an upright, cylindrical post, comprising an elongated arm having a top central rib and a laterally extending rib at each side, each said lateral rib having a downwardly offset portion adjacent the center and a vertical, longitudinally extending slot adjacent the inner end; a pair of links disposed at each side of said arm, one said link of each pair being downwardly offset at the end adjacent the other link to accommodate a pivot pin connecting said links, the outer link of each pair being pivoted on a lateral rib adjacent the outer end thereof and the inner link of each pair being provided with a pin slidable in said lateral rib slot, the upper surfaces of said links being substantially level with the upper surface of said central rib and the off set of each lateral rib accommodating the pivotal connection between said links when said links are moved against said arm; said arm at its inner end having a downwardly and rearwardly inclined ange having a laterally at upper surface, said inclined ange at its inner end being provided with an arcuate vertical groove corresponding in shape to a portion of said post; said arm also having at its inner end a vertical side ange merging with said inclined flange and an end ange extending laterally from said side flange provided with a forwardly extending ear, the inner surface of said end ange and ear being arcuate and corresponding in shape to a portion of said post, the lower edge of said ear being substantially parallel to the upper surface of said inclined flange and spaced therefrom a distance corresponding to the diameter of said post, and the under side of said end ilange being curved.

2. A device for supporting an object and detachably connectable to an upright post, comprising an elongated arm having a top central rib and a laterally extending rib at each side, each said lateral rib having a downwardly offset portion adjacent the center and a vertical longitudinally extending slot adjacent the inner end; a pair of links disposed at each side, one said link of each pair being downwardly offset at the end adjacent the other link to accommodate a pivot pin connecting said links, the outer link of each pair being pivoted on a lateral rib adjacent the outer end thereof and the inner link of each pair being provided with a pin slidable in said lateral rib slot, the upper surfaces of said links being substantially level with the upper surface of said central rib and the offset of each lateral rib accommodating the pivotal connection between said links when said links are moved against said arm; said arm at its inner end having means for detachably connecting the same to said post.

3. A device for supporting an object and detachably connectable to an upright post, comprising an elongated arm having at least one lateral rib spaced from the upper surface of said arm, said rib having a downwardly offset portion adjacent the center and a vertical longitudinally extending slot adjacent the inner end; a pair of links mounted on said rib, one said link being downwardly cfrset at the end adjacent the other link to accommodate a pivot pin connecting said links, the outer link being pivoted on said lateral rib adjacent the outer end thereof and the inner link being provided with a pin slidable in said lateral rib slot, the upper surfaces of said links being substantially level with the upper surface of said arm and the offset of said lateral rib accommodating the pivotal connection between said links when said links are moved against said arm; said arm at its inner end having means for detachably connecting the same to said post.

4. In a stand for supporting an object at a selected elevation and radial position with respect to an upright cylindrical post, the improvement comprising an elongated arm having means for supporting an object and adapted to extend in an approximately horizontal position from said post, said arm having at its inner end confronting hook and abutment portions forming an opening encircling said post, the surface of each of said hook and abutment at said opening being arcuate and engaging said post in vertically spaced relation with each said post engaging surface extending at least approximately one-half the circumference of said post, the end of said abutment sloping downwardly and the end of said hook being in overlapping vertical relation to the end of said abutment and the confronting sides of said hook and abutment forming an inclined slot for removal of said arm from said post through upward movement of said arm to an included angle of not more than approximately 45 relative to said post.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 620,175 Pinault Feb. 28, 1899 1,121,698 Weiss Dec. 22, 1914 1,206,203 Brockway a Nov. 28, 1916 2,368,982 Guze Feb. 6, 1945 2,481,604 Lorenzen Sept. 13, 1949 

